Thursday, October 16, 1997
Building characters
14-year-old has his own comic book on the drawing board
Most middle school kids carry book bags, maybe a band instrument. Rueben Williams carries a large artist's portfolio.
"I've never seen a middle school kid walk around with a portfolio," said Janet Curry, Williams' art teacher, "but he has his all the time."
Inside it is a sampling of the 14-year-old eighth-grader's work, and he's always working on something.
Williams has been drawing nearly every day since he could hold a pencil. He can draw your portrait, your favorite X-men or other comic book characters, or provide you with drawings of his original clothing designs. But what he prefers to draw are characters for the comic book he is creating.
His comic book theme involves people in the 22nd century who use advanced levels of brain power to battle each other.
"It's about the struggle for people to accept those who are different from them," Williams said.
He got the idea for the plot after watching the movie "Powder," a 1995 film about a highly intelligent albino youth ostracized by a community fearful of his appearance and knowledge.
Williams' interest in martial arts and video games is also reflected in the type of comics he reads and likes to draw. He can recite word for word the dialogue from the movie "Mortal Kombat," a martial arts movie based on a video game. "Street Fighter" is another favorite.
Terry Baucom, who owns B&D Comic Shop, where Williams is a regular customer, believes the youth's drawing skills are exceptional and that he has the potential to be a comic book illustrator.
"He's on the right track," said Baucom, " and if he's steered in the right direction, I think he has great potential."
Since September, Williams has been working on a coloring contest at B&D Comics. Customers purchase a copy of a Williams-designed character, color it and return it. Williams picks a winner each month and gives them an original full-color drawing as a prize.
"I agreed to do it on consignment," said Baucom. She wants to encourage his talent and plans to advertise the contest on her marquee in front of the building in November.
Like characters in "Mortal Kombat" that have special powers, Williams' characters also have powers. There is Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, and Vanessa Lei, who can change the weather. And there is Turbulence, a woman with the power to rupture the ground.
Looking at Williams' portfolio, it's clear he has an interest in female characters.
"They're easier to draw," said Williams, "and they're more interesting."
His favorite comic book is "Witchblade," which details the adventures of characters cursed by evil powers through wearing a magic glove.
Baucom says the comic, just 2 years old, is a big seller with customers in Williams' age group and already a collector's item. It's produced by Image - which also produces the popular comic "Spawn" - a company whose sales rank third behind the two comic book giants, Marvel, which produces Spiderman, and DC, the home of Superman.
At Ruffner, a magnet school where Williams' artwork adorns the halls, Curry creates a more challenging curriculum for Williams than for her other art students.
"I was very surprised to see that much talent in someone his age," said Curry, who also teaches high school art. "He's way ahead of the other students. I told him once he can draw things that even my high school students can't do, and his eyes lit up."
Curry believes Williams could easily succeed in a college-level course. His nonstop devotion to his work is the key to his talent.
"He has never stopped working on his craft. Most art students have a hard time drawing people, but not him. And his fashion designs are beautiful. That's something he could go far with."
Williams also has had experience marketing his talent. He pays for his art supplies with money he makes by drawing pictures for friends. Since the school year began, he has earned about $100 for portraits alone.
"I'm booked up right now," he said.
He also draws and sells his own comic book characters. A dollar for a plain character; three bucks for a character with a background.
When he was in elementary school, Williams cut up cereal boxes into trading-card-size rectangles, drew pictures of X-men characters on the back and sold them to his friends for 25 cents, recalled his mother, Sheila Wright.
"He's always been the quiet one," said Wright. "While his two sisters are carrying on, he's sitting there working on his drawings."
If Williams outgrows comics, Curry said, she believes his fashion designs could be a profitable venture.
Either way, "I need to get his autograph," said Curry. "So I can say I knew him when."
"I've never seen a middle school kid walk around with a portfolio," said Janet Curry, Williams' art teacher, "but he has his all the time."
Inside it is a sampling of the 14-year-old eighth-grader's work, and he's always working on something.
Williams has been drawing nearly every day since he could hold a pencil. He can draw your portrait, your favorite X-men or other comic book characters, or provide you with drawings of his original clothing designs. But what he prefers to draw are characters for the comic book he is creating.
His comic book theme involves people in the 22nd century who use advanced levels of brain power to battle each other.
"It's about the struggle for people to accept those who are different from them," Williams said.
He got the idea for the plot after watching the movie "Powder," a 1995 film about a highly intelligent albino youth ostracized by a community fearful of his appearance and knowledge.
Williams' interest in martial arts and video games is also reflected in the type of comics he reads and likes to draw. He can recite word for word the dialogue from the movie "Mortal Kombat," a martial arts movie based on a video game. "Street Fighter" is another favorite.
Terry Baucom, who owns B&D Comic Shop, where Williams is a regular customer, believes the youth's drawing skills are exceptional and that he has the potential to be a comic book illustrator.
"He's on the right track," said Baucom, " and if he's steered in the right direction, I think he has great potential."
Since September, Williams has been working on a coloring contest at B&D Comics. Customers purchase a copy of a Williams-designed character, color it and return it. Williams picks a winner each month and gives them an original full-color drawing as a prize.
"I agreed to do it on consignment," said Baucom. She wants to encourage his talent and plans to advertise the contest on her marquee in front of the building in November.
Like characters in "Mortal Kombat" that have special powers, Williams' characters also have powers. There is Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, and Vanessa Lei, who can change the weather. And there is Turbulence, a woman with the power to rupture the ground.
Looking at Williams' portfolio, it's clear he has an interest in female characters.
"They're easier to draw," said Williams, "and they're more interesting."
His favorite comic book is "Witchblade," which details the adventures of characters cursed by evil powers through wearing a magic glove.
Baucom says the comic, just 2 years old, is a big seller with customers in Williams' age group and already a collector's item. It's produced by Image - which also produces the popular comic "Spawn" - a company whose sales rank third behind the two comic book giants, Marvel, which produces Spiderman, and DC, the home of Superman.
At Ruffner, a magnet school where Williams' artwork adorns the halls, Curry creates a more challenging curriculum for Williams than for her other art students.
"I was very surprised to see that much talent in someone his age," said Curry, who also teaches high school art. "He's way ahead of the other students. I told him once he can draw things that even my high school students can't do, and his eyes lit up."
Curry believes Williams could easily succeed in a college-level course. His nonstop devotion to his work is the key to his talent.
"He has never stopped working on his craft. Most art students have a hard time drawing people, but not him. And his fashion designs are beautiful. That's something he could go far with."
Williams also has had experience marketing his talent. He pays for his art supplies with money he makes by drawing pictures for friends. Since the school year began, he has earned about $100 for portraits alone.
"I'm booked up right now," he said.
He also draws and sells his own comic book characters. A dollar for a plain character; three bucks for a character with a background.
When he was in elementary school, Williams cut up cereal boxes into trading-card-size rectangles, drew pictures of X-men characters on the back and sold them to his friends for 25 cents, recalled his mother, Sheila Wright.
"He's always been the quiet one," said Wright. "While his two sisters are carrying on, he's sitting there working on his drawings."
If Williams outgrows comics, Curry said, she believes his fashion designs could be a profitable venture.
Either way, "I need to get his autograph," said Curry. "So I can say I knew him when."
